A Wilted Flower
by This isn't a username
Summary: After Flora's father dies, she and her sister, Miele, are left in the care of her wicked stepmother and -sisters. When she remembers the snowdrop she gave away years ago, she finds both love and hope can be only a flower and a magic touch away... Mainly based off the 2015 movie.
1. Prologue

_Once upon a time,  
there was a girl named Flora._

 _She truly was beautiful,  
with her perfectly tanned skin,  
her long brown hair and her eyes,  
as green and bright as nature itself._

 _Flora lived in her own little world,  
full of wonders and magic._

 _She had a very special gift,  
a power of nature,  
passed from mother to daughter  
and rare among all creatures._

 _Adored by her parents,  
Flora was the princess of her very own kingdom  
in the great forest,  
surrounding her beloved home._

 _With the goodness of her heart  
and an amount of kindness  
only she could possess,  
she ruled fairly over all her friends,  
wether they were human or animal._

 _She really was a lucky girl, until one day, that was..._

Flora was walking through the woods with her mother, Alyssa, and her one-year-old sister, Miele.

"Fowa! Comon! Comon!" Miele yelled. "Fowa come now?"

While she was running as fast as her little legs could carry her,  
her older sister was stopping every five seconds to study this flower or to talk to that animal.  
She was getting tired of it.

"I'm coming!" The eleven-year-old replied, still deep in thought.

Flora began running towards her sister.

Alyssa couldn't help but smile as she saw her elder daughter running,  
only to stop a few short meters later, to look at a patch of flowers.  
She couldn't blame her, it was a part of her gift, and it was in Flora's nature to do so.

At this point, Miele had had enough.  
She raced back to her sister and dragged her forward.  
The young girls fell down and laughed.

All of a sudden, they heard a shriek. They turned around to see their mother lying on the ground, Alyssa had fainted.

Flora was lost on what to do, they were quite far from home, her mother had fainted, and she was alone with her sister, who had begun crying beside her.  
She thought for a moment, looking through her options, before making a decision.

Flora turned to her crying sister "Hey, Miele, don't cry, it'll be okay, you'll see..."

Miele sniffed: "Weally?"

Flora smiled "Yes. Now I need you to do something for me. Can you promise me you'll stay right here with mommy, while I go look for help?"

"Okay..."

Flora hurriedly got up, she knew her friends Layla and Bloom lived in the village nearby.  
She ran all the way to the village. She did get lucky there, she bumped right into Layla, while she and her parents were shopping at the market.

"You... have... to help me!" She panted

"What's wrong, Flora?" Her friend asked.

"No time to explain, Miele's alone in the woods, mommy fainted, we have to get back there! Now!"

It didn't sit right with Flora to leave her sister behind, but she hadn't had a choice.

Layla caught on, immediately she called out to her parents "Mother, father, come here!"

Noticing their daughter's slightly distraught tone, they came quickly. Flora briefly told them what happened. Layla and her mother went back to the woods with Flora, while Layla's father fetched a doctor.

Thanks to Layla's parents' help, Alyssa got the help she needed, but she was diagnosed with a deathly illness that could not be cured.  
Weeks passed, and the house that had once been so alive, grew silent.  
Alyssa knew her time was coming to an end.

One day, she called her two daughters to her room. They came quickly, especially Flora, desperate as she was to spend time with her mother, before her inevitable death.  
Rollos led his daughters into his and his wife's bedroom, where his wife was laying in her bed.

"Flora... Miele..." Alyssa breathed her daughters' names.

"Mommy..." Flora had tears in her eyes.

"I am afraid my time has passed, I must go soon. Can... can you forgive me?"

"Of course..." Flora let her tears flow freely as she hugged her mother. Her sister's face was a totally different story, Miele had no idea what was going on, but she followed her sister to hug her mother anyway.

Alyssa coughed, took a sharp breath and continued her little speech:

"My dear girls, can you promise me one thing, just one?"

"Anything, mommy." Flora sobbed

"Have courage and treat everyone and everything with the kindness they deserve."

"Courage and kindness, courage and kindness..." Flora chanted "Got it. I promise, mommy."

"Miele pomis too!" Miele added, totally confused.

The whole family joined in a last group hug, before Alyssa died in their arms.


	2. A first meeting

It was a charming afternoon in the late spring, Flora was humming a sad song, as she watched her sister care for the plants. Normally she would have been right next to little Miele, teaching her of all the plants, trees and animals, sometimes amazing Miele with her power over nature, but she wasn't in the mood.

Flora sighed, today was the fourth anniversary of her mother's death. Usually they would go visit their mother's grave with their father, but he was on a business trip.  
He had meant to be home in time for the anniversary, but had been delayed and would not be home until the week after.

Flora had decided not to remind her sister of the date. Miele didn't remember much of their mother anyway, she had been a mere one-year-old at the time their mother died, and although the rest of her family had done everything to keep the memories alive, she had forgotten most things.

Sometimes, when the past stung too badly, Flora secretly envied Miele, maybe forgetting was better than missing.  
Everytime this happened, however, Flora would quickly wave her thoughts away. In the time Alyssa had been alive, she had been a better mother than Flora could have wished for, she was lucky to have the memories.

Flora sat there, on the bench looking out at the gardens and the forest. For a single moment, she was alone with her thoughts. A single tear rolled down her cheek. As she looked up, she saw an elderly lady coming towards her, it was one of the older servants, and secretly the one Flora liked most.

"Come here, dear..." she pulled Flora into a hug "Why don't you take some time for yourself, take a stroll through the forest... And don't you worry about Miele, I'll make sure she stays out of trouble."

Flora sniffed "Thank you, Faragonda... I- I think I'll do that." The two stayed like that for another minute or so,before Flora stood up. With a tear-stained face, the girl silently left.

Faragonda wasn't offended, she knew Flora appreciated her efforts dearly and besides that, she understood her pain. Faragonda had known Alyssa personally and she too had been deeply hurt when her mistress died.

* * *

Flora walked through the forest absentmindedly. Somehow nature always seemed to comfort her, perhaps it was because her mother had shared her love for gardening. Although she wasn't really looking where she was going, she did keep her eye out for wilted flowers. Whenever she saw one, she would touch it and will it back to life. Today was enough about death, she needed some life.

Somehow, Flora ended up in the clearing where her mother had been buried. It was the same place she had fainted earlier. This was one of the reasons the site had been chosen, the other being that it was in the middle of the forest, completely surrounded by Alyssa's greatest love, nature.

Flora sat down at the side of the clearing. She buried her face in her hands and cried softly. It was then that her mother's words came to her mind.

 _Have courage and treat everyone and everything with the kindness they deserve._

"Courage and kindness..." Flora whispered with a little smile "I need to have courage!"

With a newfound hope she stood up and walked through the forest, leaving a trail of gorgeous flowers behind.

* * *

After a few minutes, she heard someone crying nearby. She let her ears lead her, and after only a minute or so, she saw a boy, about her age, sitting against a tree, sobbing softly.

She hesitatingly walked closer, but stopped a few meters away from the boy.

"Are- are you okay?" She asked in a small voice, she was a little shy, but couldn't sit back when someone was in need of help or advice, even with strangers.

He didn't react, he hadn't heard her.

She sighed sadly to herself, and then she walked closer, sat down next to him and lay her hand on his shoulder.

"Hey... What's wrong?" She asked in a slightly louder voice.

"N-Nothing." He finally said.

Flora eyed him "Do you really think I believe that."

"I'm not just going to pour my heart out to some random stranger." He replied.

"I did come over here to help a random stranger." Flora said "But if it matters that much to you, they call me Flora. Now you still haven't answered my question: what's wrong?"

"You don't know-" the boy began, but then he shook his head. Flora pretended she didn't see it.

"I'm Helia" he said slowly "My-my mother died recently."

Flora's heart sank, she didn't know if she could deal with this right on her mother's death's anniversary, but she was here now. She thought about her promise to her mother for the second time in half an hour. "I'm sorry- She began, but she got interrupted by Helia:

"Don't be, I'm sick of everyone telling me they're sorry! I-I just want her back!"

She took a sharp breath, leaving Helia with a slightly concerned look "I understand, that's exactly how I felt when..."

"When?"

She shook her head "Nevermind. Anyway, you must allow yourself to let go. If you let her go, you'll still be sad sometimes, but you'll be free... free and happy. That's what she would've wanted, for you to be free and happy" she smiled and chanted her mothers words "Have courage and be kind."

Helia was silent for a moment, letting her words sink in, then he said "Thank you... But you... You speak from experience, don't you?" He added the last part with a hint of concern in his voice.

Flora nodded slowly, closed her eyes and shook it of. Then she put her hands together and then opened them to reveal a single flower, a snowdrop. "Here take this. It will never wilt, as long as you treat it with love."

Helia's eyes widened "A snowdrop, sign of hope... But how-"

"Magic" Flora smiled

If it would have been possible, Helia's eyes would have widened even more "The gift of nature..." he breathed in awe "But it's so rare..."

"Currently I'm the only one with the gift... The last one to have it before me was my mother..." She told him.

Helia now realised how much pain and memory he'd just put the poor girl through "I'm so sorry..." He said.

"Oh, it's okay. I'm over it now. She died four years ago." she said, then she added "exactly four years ago..."

The two fell silent, neither of them knowing what to say.

Suddenly Flora spoke up "Hey, how did you know about the gift of nature anyway? I'm just curious."

"Uhm... I really love drawing and poetry, I stumbled upon some old documents while I was doing research on flowers..."

From there the conversation quickly rose, they talked for hours and hours, until Flora saw that it was almost dark "It's getting late, I really have to go home... Can't leave the servants to look after my sister for too long."

"Bye then." He said, before taking out his sketchpad.

Flora walked away, only to turn around a few short meters later "And don't forget to take care of my flower!"

Helia looked up from his drawing and chuckled "I won't!"

* * *

Flora ran all the way back home, Faragonda was already waiting for her "You look a lot happier..."

Flora sighed "Yes, this was just what I needed."

"I thought you would have been home earlier." Faragonda questioned

"Well, let's just say things went a little different than expected. I'd... rather not talk about it." Flora told her old friend.

"If you say so, dear..."

* * *

That evening, when Flora was alone in her room, she thought about her meeting with Helia some more. Only now did she realise that she hadn't even asked him where he lives, or something like that. She sighed, she really had hoped she could meet him again sometime.

Then an idea formed in her head: she would write him a letter and leave it at the place she first met him, along with a few of her never-wilting flowers, snowdrops to make it clear to him.


	3. The attic?

One and a half year later...

Flora was in her room, in the process of writing a letter to Helia - they hadn't seen each other in person since the day they met (Helia turned out to be a hard-working apprentice in the palace, so he often was very busy), but they did write to each other ever so often - when she heard her father call her name from downstairs.

Flora finished the last sentence, signed the letter and magically transported the letter to the clearing where she first met Helia, before running downstairs.

"I'm here, daddy." She grinned.

Rollos smiled at his oldest daughter "Good. Walk with me, Flower."

Flora happily obeyed, so daughter and father went for a walk in the woods together. They were silent for a few minutes, until Flora finally spoke up "Okay, daddy, out with it... What is it you need to tell me."

Rollos was caught by surprise "But how did you-" His daughter gave him a pointed look.

"Oh alright..." He chuckled "Flower, do you remember meeting the countess Cassandra and her family?"

Flora pondered for a minute, finally she said "Uhm, no, not really..."

Rollos sighed "You were very young, Miele hadn't even been born yet... But that's not really the point."

"Then what is?" Flora asked, genuinely curious.

"Her husband, the count of Solaria has sadly died. Now, the countess, a respectable middle-aged woman, finds herself a widow-"

"Go for it." Flora simply told her father

Rollos was a bit confused at first, but he shook it of, then he looked at his daughter with a very relieved smile "Thank you..."

A few months later, Flora, Miele and Flora's friends, Layla and Bloom, who insisted on being there for the occasion, were eagerly waiting for their father at the gate. He was to bring their new step-family, the countess Cassandra and her fraternal twin daughters, Chimera and Diaspro.

Flora was especially looking forward to meeting her step-sisters, they were supposed to be around her age.

After waiting, for what seemed like eternity, they finally saw a carriage coming towards them.

Flora suddenly felt herself getting nervous, while she was looking how her father helped her new step-mother out of the carriage. Layla quickly took notice, she lay her hand on Flora's shoulder and softly said:

"Don't worry. Everything's alright. You'll do great."

Flora looked at her friend with big, sad eyes "But what if they don't like me?"

"They will. Trust me." Layla smiled.

Then Bloom added "Yeah... How can anyone _not_ like you? You're the nicest person I know!"

Flora smiled gratefully at her friends. Then she turned to her father and greeted her new family together with her sister.

"It is lovely to meet you, I'm Flora and this is my sister Miele." Flora smiled.

While countess Cassandra politely answered, her daughters were too busy gossiping among themselves

"Look at her, such stringy hair..."

"And that dress!"

Flora nervously glanced at her friends. Bloom gave her a comforting smile, while Layla looked as though she was getting ready to kill the two right then and there... okay, maybe not... but at the very least tell hem off for speaking badly of her friend.

They let it for the time being and walked inside with the others. The countess was silent most of the time, only commenting every once in a while, her daughters on the other hand were bombarding Flora's father with questions.

Flora observed her new family for awhile. The two sisters seemed to be more than a little vain, thus it was no surprise to Flora when Miele quietly asked her sister "Why do they talk about themselves that much, Flora? There've got to be more interesting topics, right? Or are they just _that_ self-centered?"

Flora couldn't help but smile a little, it was a curious thing to say for a girl her age, she gently scolded her sister "Don't judge so quickly, Miele. They'll surprise you, you'll see."

She heard one of her friends scoff behind her "Yeah right..."

Flora just sighed and rolled her eyes.

* * *

It had been a few weeks since countess Cassandra's arrival, Flora sighed sadly, she wasn't looking forward to her father leaving for travels once more this afternoon.  
Against her previous words, her step-family had not yet proven (and it had been weeks) to be any different from the first impression they'd made, quite the opposite actually, well whenever her father wasn't around at least...  
This was one of the reasons she didn't want her father to leave, the other being that she simply wanted him to stay safely at home with her and Miele.  
Although she personally hated to see her father leaving, she never tried to talk him out of it, after all, it was his job...

Flora walked downstairs, joining the family outside, by the gate. She hugged her father as a single tear fell down her cheek.

"Be safe..." She whispered, then her father rode off, into the forest. Cassandra and her daughters went inside, while Flora and Miele stayed and waved for long after their father had disappeared from their vision.  
Finally, the girls went inside, there they found their step sisters having a heated argument (that has to be the understatement of the century), their mother was just observing them, not really doing anything.

Flora spoke up "Uhm... Why are they fighting like that?" She and her sister fought ever so often, but never like this, it was way too much yelling and cursing.

"They share a lot, but their room is just too small to be shared." Her step mother replied rather bluntly.

Flora couldn't really believe what she was hearing, that room was not small at all, nevertheless she offered to give her own room away, as hers was a little bigger.

"That's very sweet of you, Flora, thank you very much. So your bedroom will go to my daughters and then you can sleep in..." The woman paused for a moment, thinking of the best place to send Flora to "...the attic!"

"Uhm, hold on, the attic? Couldn't I just sleep in the-" Flora began, kind of confused on where this was going.

Then she got interrupted by her step mother, who wasn't in the least bit paying attention to her words "It's settled then! My daughters will sleep in your room, and you will sleep in the attic!"

Flora sighed, anything to make peace with her new family she supposed "Yes, step mother..."

"Oh, you needn't call me that... Madam will do..." the countess smirked "Now go grab your things, oh and while you're at it, take this junk with you, will you?" she grabbed a nearby-standing tray with Flora's late mother's most prized possessions.

Flora blinked, considering standing up against her step mother, but deciding against it. She eyed Miele who was standing behind her, quietly telling her sister to keep her mouth shut as well. Finally she replied with a small nod "Yes, madam."

* * *

Flora grabbed the tray, went into her room and grabbed her plants and a few other things that were important to her and walked upstairs. It was when she had almost finished the seemingly never-ending stairs, that she finally noticed Miele sneaking after her.

"Miele, what are you doing?"

Miele laughed "I'm walking to the attic, of course!"

Flora frowned "Yes, but _why_?"

"If you have to live there, so do I!"

"Miele, you can't!" Flora stressed

Miele smirked, she had expected this to happen, and had prepared her answers carefully "And why not?"

"Because- Because it's freezing up there, and you'd have to walk all those stairs every single day, and-"

Miele cut her sister off "But so do you! You didn't think I was going to leave you, did you?"

"But- but- but-" Flora paused, she couldn't really bring anything against her sister's words "Okay, you win, you can come..."

Miele smiled triumphantly "So what are we waiting for then?"

She hadn't even fiinished the sentence or the girls bolted upstairs. They found the attic was quite dusty and unfurnished, so they immediately began pimping the place. Before the evening fell, thay had made two (kind of) decent beds and had finished dusting the place.

"I have to say, Miels, I'm glad you followed me."


End file.
